Collapsible container



June 24, 1969 J. D. EDMUNDSON 3,451,578

COLLAPS IBLE CONTAINER Filed June 1, 1967 Sheet of 2 T 2 JOHN D.EDMUNDSON INVENTOR.

A7TORNEX J. D. EDMUNDSON COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER June 24, 1969 Sheet 2 of2Filed June 1, 1967 i 01 I 4r JOHN D. EDMUNDfiON INVENTOR.

United States Patent "ice 3,451,578 COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER John D.Edmundson, Rte. 2, Fremont, NC. 27830 Filed June 1, 1967, Ser. No.642,922 Int. Cl. B65d 9/14 US. Cl. 217-48 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE In abstract, a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis a collapsible produce shipping container composed of a fork lift typepallet having a channel member about its outer edge to engage a tongueformed along the lower part of the sides to interlock the partstogether.

This invention relates to receptacles and more particularly topalletized, readily collapsible transporting containers.

In the past, various types of containers of a fixed configuration havebeen used in the transportation of produce from the fields to thepacking houses. In many instances, it is found more economical to fillthese containers in the fields, load them on tractor-trailer trucks andtransport them several hundred miles to a processing location in closeproximity to the retail market. The disadvantage of this, however, hasbeen that the truck could not carry any more containers back to itsoriginal loading location than it had brought toprocessing locationsince the containers were not foldable or collapsible. As an example ofthis, sixty fixed configuration containers holding a crop such ascucumbers may be transported by tractortrailer from the farm to a citysome 400 miles way. On return the truck, although weight-light, stillcarrys only sixty containers and at the present transport rate based onweight, could charge only $1.00 per crate or a total of $60.00. On theother hand if the crates could be 'collapsed in such a manner that theydo not take up any more floor square footage disassembled thanassembled, then up to 500 containers could be loaded for the return tripgiving the transporter a fee of $500.00 compared to $60.00. This alsowould greatly reduce the out-of-season storage problems presentlyencountered.

The reason that truck farm type operations have not gone to collapsiblecontainers in the past is that although various attempts have been made,no sturdy, readily collapsible container without small parts orcomplicated locking mechanisms has been developed. All of the prior artdevices have included numerous small parts which may be easily lost andwould not be readily replaceable on the job. These containers also aretime consuming in collapsing and setting up and, even in the collapsedstate, extend over a floor square footage area larger than the assembledcontainer which prevents convenient stacking. The prior art devices alsodo not readily collapse into parts of such a size that one man mayeasily move without assistance.

Due to the present high labor cost and the fact that three hardy men arerequired to move an uncollapsible container, the prior art units arebecoming more costly to use each year. They are also more expensive tomaintain since they are usually stored outside during the off season dueto their bulk and are thus subject to deterioration from the elements.

After much research and study into the above mentioned problems,applicant has developed a produce transporting container used inconjunction with a fork lift type pallet which may be readily loaded andunloaded from a transporting vehicle. In combination with this basicpallet, applicant has produced a container which is Patented June 24,1969 equally as strong if not stronger than the fixed, uncollapsiblecontainers presently in common use. Applicants container is inexpensiveto manufacture and maintain, has no small irreplaceable parts to getlost or mislaid and is adapted to be readily collapsible and assemblableby one person without assistance or the exertion of excessive energy.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide aquickly assemblage and disassemblable produce container capable of beingstored in a fiat disassemblable condition in an area covering no greatersquare footage than that covered while in the assembled position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a palletizedproduce container having a channel member about its lower peripherywhereby the outward pressure of the produce contained within thecontainer strengthens the side wall to pallet bottom relationship.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a producecontainer which is readily assemblable and disassemblable and which usesany convenient elongated object such as a bolt, nail or the like to holdthe container in assembled position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a transporting andshipping container wherein the sides are disassemblable in at least twoparts and are adapted to readily stack on the base portion thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a collapsiblecontainer having at least two separate side portions which interlock inassembled position to form a rigid container for transporting andshipping of bulk objects.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent and obvious from a study of the following description and theaccompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of the presentinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the partially assembled transportingcontainer of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken through lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of one means of releasably securing thedisassemblable side portions;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembled container; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the container in collapsed condition.

With further reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 discloses a pallet 10 ofthe type adapted to be used in conjunction with a fork lift typetransporting and lift device. About the upper periphery of the pallet 10is a channel member 11 which is fixedly secured thereto by means such aswood screws 12 which pass through the lower edge of said channel.Openings such as those disclosed at 13 are provided in the upper portionof channel member 11 in vertical alignment with each of the fasteningmeans 12. Two sets of identically shaped side assemblies 22 are providedwhich are composed of a series of vertically disposed members 14 whichare fixedly secured to upper horizontal brace member 15, centralhorizontal brace member 16 and horizontal tongue member 17. Foldablyjoining the two side portions 23 of each of the two foldable assemblies22 are hinge means 18.

Spaced along the vertical edges of the foldable side portions where theyjoin are disassembled hinge means fixedly secured in such a positionthat they will mate when both of said foldable portions are placed inassembled position on the pallet base 10. These mating means areparticularly disclosed in FIG. 3 wherein the male portion 19 and thefemale portion 20 are aligned with removable pin means 21 insertedtherein.

To give added strength to the container, the hinged corners as well asthe disassemblable corners are offset in stepped fashion particularly asdisclosed in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In actual use of the transportation container of the present invention,pallet is placed on any suitable, relatively level area with the channelmember 11 facing upward. The first foldable side assembly 22 is placedon the pallet 10 in such a manner that horizontally disposed tonguemembers 17 of each of the two side portions 23 project into the adjacentchannel member 11 in a tongue and groove fashion thereby interlockingthe side assem- My 22 to the pallet 10.

One of the side portions 23 of a second identically constructed foldableassembly is so placed on pallet 10 that its tongue 17 interconnectinglyengages channel member 11. The male portion of the securing means on oneof the side portions is in alignment with the female portion of thesecuring means of the adjacent side portion. Pin members 21 are insertedtherethrough to rigidly secure the two side assemblies together. Theother side portions of the assembly being attached is swung or pivotedabout its hinges until it is juxtaposed to channel member 11 therebyinterlocking such member with tongue 17. In this final assembly step,the all ready implaced unconnected side portion will have to be warpedoutwardly enough to allow the outer edge of the upper brace member andthe central brace member of the being connected side portion to moveinto position. Once these last mentioned parts are in assembled relationto each other, the male and female portions may be pinned together ashereinabove described in connection with the first securing operation.

The now completely assembled transporting container may be loaded withtruck farm type produce or other products. The more such produce orproducts that are placed within the container the greater the outwardlyexerted pressure is. As this pressure increases, the stronger thecontainer becomes due to the increase in the retentive pressures beweenthe interlocking channel member 11 and tongue members 17, particularlyas indicated by the arrow 24 in FIG. 2.

It is obvious that the present invention has the advantage of providingan extremely strong, sturdy transporting container which is readilycollapsible and assemblable by one man. The present invention furtherhas the advantage of disassembling into small enough portions that oneman may easily handle them to stack, unstack and shift withoutassistance. Even including the above set forth advantages, applicantscontainer obviously is less expensive to manufacture and maintain thanany collapsible transportation container heretofore known.

The terms upper," lower, bottom, top and so forth have been used hereinmerely for convenience in the foregoing specification and in theappended claims to 4 describe the transportation container and its partsas oriented in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that theseterms are in no way limiting to the invention since the container mayobviously be disposed in many different positions when in use.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specificways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit andessential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange are intended to be embraced herein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a collapsible container using a generally square, fork lift typepallet as a base, the improvement comprising: an inwardly openingchannel member fixedly secured along the outer edges of the uppersurface of said pallet; a pair of generally square, hingedly connectedside portions removably disposed perpendicularly to said palletinteriorly of and juxtaposed to said channel; outwardly projectingtongue means fixedly secured along the lower portion of each of saidsides and projecting into the opening in said channel member; a secondpair of side portions of substantially identical configuration to saidfirst set of Side portions removably mounted on said generally squarepallet inwardly of and juxtaposed to said channel member; and strap typehinge means with removable pivot pin means secured to the interior ofsaid side portions to releasably secure the same together at theiradjacent corner points whereby a relatively rigid, strong collapsiblecontainer is provided which increases in rigidity proportional to theoutward pressure of contents placed therein.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the points of contact between thetwo sets of side portions adjacent the releasable strap hinge means isof a stair-step shaped shoulder configuration whereby said side portionsmay be more rigidly releasably secured together.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein the overall dimensions of eachindividual, generally square, side portion is less than the overalldimensions of the pallet whereby when said sides are removed from saidpallet they may be stacked thereon without requiring additionalhorizontal space for their storage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,527 3/1928 De Boer 217-432,299,175 10/ 1942 Procissi et al.

2,890,809 6/1959 Poley.

2,897,995 8/ 1959 Farrar 220-6 3,027,038 3/ 1962 Kordowski.

3,262,597 7/1966 Coffey.

RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Primary Examiner.

